Conversing Using WhatsHap: a Phoneme Based Vibrotactile Messaging Platform

We propose and study an evolving network model for instant messaging system (IMS) with local-world preferential connections and acquaintance introduction mechanisms, which exist in many physical complex networks especially in IMS evolving network. We put forward the algorithms to generate IMS evolving network model and through simulation results we talk about the topological properties of the IMS evolving network. First of all, degree distribution, clustering coefficient along with average path length are simulated and then the community structure of the model is analyzed. We can draw the conclusion that the degree distribution of IMS evolving network doesnpsilat obey power-law distribution, and this network has a short average path length and a high clustering coefficient. In a word, the simulation result shows that the IMS evolving network is a complex network possessing properties of small-world and clear community structure, but doesnpsilat have scale-free property.

Instant message system (IMS) is becoming increasingly an important means of communication except for traditional mass media. Based on the discussions about the characteristics of IMS message transfer, this paper firstly analyzed the specific characteristics different from traditional tools of communication and puts forward the principles of IMS message transfer. We also analyzed the characters of users in IMS virtual communities, and pointed out how these characters influencing the message transfer and how to control the message transfer correspondingly. We set up a Tobit model of IMS message transfer which includes five factors that may influence the transfer process. Through analyzing the sensitive factors of IMS message transfer, we demonstrate that there are two typical factors influencing IMS message transfer, which are whether a user is "active type" and the relationship types of IMS users. Finally, we proposed some necessary guidelines for enhancing the security of the IMS message transfer.

This paper aims at researching the message system in the instant messaging system based on the multi-language e-commerce platform in order to design the instant messaging system in multi-language environment and exhibit the national characteristics based information as well as applying national languages to e-commerce. In order to develop beautiful and friendly system interface for the front end of the message system and reduce the development cost, the mature jQuery framework is adopted in this paper. The high-performance server Tomcat is adopted at the back end to process user requests, and MySQL database is adopted for data storage to persistently store user data, and meanwhile Oracle database is adopted as the message buffer for system optimization. Moreover, AJAX technology is adopted for the client to actively pull the newest data from the server at the specified time. In practical application, the system has strong reliability, good expansibility, short response time, high system throughput capacity and high user concurrency.

The study analyzed the communicative interaction patterns of eight congenitally nonspeaking physically disabled children (between the ages of 4 and 6 years) and their primary caregivers. The dyads were videotaped in a free play situation for 20 minutes. The videotaped interaction was transcribed in its entirety and coded with respect to three categories of variables: discourse status, communicative function, and mode of communication. The data were analyzed to reflect: the frequencies of the specific communicative behaviors of the children and the interrelationships of the three categories of variables within the children's turns. Findings revealed that the children used multiple modes to communicate: a mean of 81.8% of their communicative turns were conveyed by nonboard modes (e.g, vocalization, gesture, or eye gaze, used alone or in combination); 18.2% of their turns were conveyed by means of their communication boards. In general, the mode of communication was found to be strongly influenced by the dis...

Cet article décrit l’émergence du chat comme dispositif de communication (en analysant la genèse des principaux artefacts) et entreprend de déconstruire l’évidence de son statut de média interactif, d’une part en proposant des « hypothèses fortes » (normatives) sur ce qui fait qu’un média peut être qualifié d’interactif, et d’autre part en montrant que cette forme de communication médiatisée par ordinateur (CMO) s’est articulée de deux façons distinctes. L’une, plutôt conviviale et orientée vers la sociabilité – les « salons » de chat – et l’autre, plus instrumentale et axée sur l’efficacité – les messageries instantanées. L’essor de ces dernières au détriment des espaces de chat « conviviaux » apparaît comme un tournant dans la construction sociale de cette pratique qui reflète la montée de l’individualisme en réseau et nous amène à relativiser l’interactivité du chat en tant que « média social ».

Instant Messaging (IM) services over the last few years have evolved from a casual communication tool to a formal business communication tool. Security requirements change drastically when instant messaging systems are employed in the corporate world as sensitive data needs to be transmitted. Many security enhancements have been proposed for instant messaging from the perspective of peer-to-peer talk. In this paper, we study the extension of secure instant messaging for group settings. We also propose a scheme, IBECRT, which uses ID-based encryption and the Chinese Remainder Theorem. The scheme does not require a central trusted entity for key distribution and achieves uniform work-load distribution. Additionally, the protocol has the following properties: hiding the users’ identity in a conference, authentication of senders, and integrity protection of the messages exchanged.

This report details the development of a secure messaging add-on for use on public Instant Messaging (IM) networks. It is a continuation of the project discussed in [25]. Due to sociopolitical and monetary reasons, the growth of secure enterprise IM systems has not kept pace with the use of insecure public IM systems. A solution to this problem is to develop a free prototype that is able to secure communications over a public IM network, using a set of guidelines for information security and IM network compatibility. The prototype was able to successfully integrate with a third party IM client and conduct an encrypted session over the MSN Messenger Network. With more development and testing the prototype could become a viable option for use as a secure IM add-on.

Purpose This study seeks to determine how speech-language impairments relate to the frequency and diversity of communication modes and functions produced by children with cerebral palsy (CP) during interactions with their mothers. Method We studied 40 children with CP (M age = 62 months) comprising three groups: those who were unable to speak and had anarthria (n = 15), those with speech motor impairment and language comprehension impairment (SMI-LCI; n = 15), and those with speech motor impairment and typical language comprehension (SMI-LCT; n = 10). Mother-child play interactions were coded for child modes and functions. Generalized linear regression models were used to examine the relationship between profile group and frequencies of communication modes and functions. Results Results indicated groups SMI-LCI and SMI-LCT had significantly higher mean frequencies of vocalizations, vocalizations + gestures, comments, initiations, and requests than the group of those who were unable to speak and had anarthria. All children used vocalizations primarily, though these vocalizations were often not understood. SMI-LCI and SMI-LCT differed on two measures: frequency of gestures and frequency of initiations. The majority of children in this sample did not have access to augmentative and alternative communication devices. Conclusion Results of this study highlight the need for parent-mediated interventions for children with CP that emphasize multimodal communication tailored to impairment profiles. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12354704.

The spread of instant messenger systems provides an excellent opportunity and a helpful tool to healthcare professionals. WhatsApp instant messenger use is widely prevalent among health professionals, cancer patients, caregivers and the general population. It is a quick and easy communication tool that may also be used on personal computers and business purposes. WhatsApp instant messenger and other similar tools may be a very useful complement for e-medicine. Instant messaging systems may be helpful, especially in rural areas, in medium- or low-income countries, or to avoid unnecessary travels, improve knowledge and awareness of cancer, monitor home care and support the delivery of home care. The unregulated use of WhatsApp instant messenger requires sound and shared guidelines to assure impeccable professional service. Although a significant number of papers have investigated the roles of social networks in connecting patients to health professionals, there is still a lack of information and scientific data about their uses, benefits and limitations in connecting health providers only for professional communication. The role of instant messenger systems in cancer practice and research needs to be clarified. In this paper, we report a focus on available data, pros and contras of the unregulated use of WhatsApp instant messaging, in the context of e-medicine, as an interprofessional and doctor/patient communication tool in oncology.

‘Healthcare infrastructures’ is often associated with large, complex and costly technical solutions made available by institutions. The widespread use of smart devices made possible the development of information exchange building on general purpose communication technologies. Through the analysis of an expert opinion service for breast cancer via WhatsApp, we illustrate the process of setting up the service, the challenges and the ramifications of health information exchange taking place through non-institutional channels. We introduce the concept of ‘grassroot infrastructures’ to indicate socio-technical systems created and managed by lower-ranked organizational actors, invisible to rationalized representations of work.

Peer feedback has become a crucial element in the field of English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) writing. There has been a notable scholarly interest in the integration of peer feedback in English writing instruction. Among Chinese undergraduate students, there is a growing tendency to use instant messaging systems, such as WeChat, for peer feedback. WeChat distinguishes itself from other platforms by its extensive usage in China, particularly owing to its user-friendly features. However, there is a lack of systematic research in the current literature to explore the effectiveness of using WeChat for peer feedback in English writing. In particular, there is a lack of research on five aspects of students’ English writing performance when using WeChat as a platform for peer feedback, such as content and idea, coherence and cohesion, grammar and form, word choice and vocabulary, and organization and structure. This article aims to provide an overview of the investigation of the effectiveness of using WeChat as an instant messaging platform through a literature review. The authors adhered to predetermined criteria for what literature were included and excluded. Ultimately, the authors reviewed a collection of 30 research articles from the year 2011 to 2023 that are directly related to the topic at hand. This review encompasses an evaluation of the research designs, findings, discussions, and gaps in research identified in these articles. This review offers a comprehensive comprehension of the present status of research in this field. Moreover, it emphasizes the need for additional academic investigation, specifically targeting the task of filling the recognized gaps in knowledge. Furthermore, the conclusion highlights the necessity of further studies, which needs to explore the long-term effects of incorporating WeChat and peer feedback on enhancing students’ writing performance. This encompasses various aspects, such as content and idea, coherence and cohesion, word choice and vocabulary, organization and structure, as well as grammar and form.

The integration of voice transmission into instant messaging systems may be a boon for most of us, but causes a problem for others, that is, this integration will disadvantage those who are deaf and hard of hearing. This problem may be mitigated with transcription implemented with automated speech recognition (ASR). This paper describes a plug-in for IBM's Sametime instant messaging product that uses commercial ASR products to provide transcription. The user interface and the lessons learned from the wide use of the plug-in are described.

This paper discusses the globalization of e–learning, changes in languages as an effect of distance technologies and the lingua franca of modern times, English, and its effects on other languages. Hybrid languages such as Spanglish (Spanish English) and Swenglish (Swedish English) emerges as an effect of the increasing interaction between non–English languages and the dominant English language. The need for speed and efficiency in communication and the adaptation to new technology changes language dramatically as is observed in chat and SMS–mediated communication. The complexity of modern human communication is discussed with a historical perspective — the old modes of communication can now be used via Internet but this transfer changes their characteristics.

Usage-based linguists and psychologists have produced a large body of empirical results suggesting that linguistic structure is derived from language use. However, while researchers agree that these results characterize grammar as an emergent phenomenon, there is no consensus among usage-based scholars as to how the various results can be explained and integrated into an explicit theory or model. Building on network theory, the current paper outlines a structured network approach to the study of grammar in which the core concepts of syntax are analyzed by a set of relations that specify associations between different aspects of a speaker’s linguistic knowledge. These associations are shaped by domain-general processes that can give rise to new structures and meanings in language acquisition and language change. Combining research from linguistics and psychology, the paper proposes specific network analyses for the following phenomena: argument structure, word classes, constituent structure, constructions and construction families, and grammatical categories such as voice, case and number. The article builds on data and analyses presented in Diessel (2019; The Grammar Network. How Linguistic Structure is Shaped by Language Use) but approaches the topic from a different perspective.

Previous studies on shallow orthographies and clear syllable boundaries of languages—such as Spanish, German, and French—report an inhibitory effect in lexical decision tasks when targets have more densely frequent syllable neighborhoods (MFSNs). However, these results do not indicate whether the inhibitory effect derives from orthographic syllable representations or phonological syllable representations, because the target words in those studies were mixed in terms of orthographic and phonological representations. The present study investigated whether an inhibitory effect due to lexical competitors derives from phonological or orthographic syllables, using two lexical decision tasks with Korean bisyllable words. In Experiment 1, when a target had MFSNs that controlled for orthographically related sublexical variables (e.g., bigram frequency, the density of orthographic neighborhoods, and the density of more frequent orthographic syllable neighborhoods), the facilitative effect occurred. In Experiment 2, a typical inhibitory effect in a lexical decision task was elicited by a dense MFSN in a phonologically defined syllable, while a dense MFSN in an orthographically defined syllable did not create the inhibitory effect. The results suggest that an inhibitory effect due to lexical competition might not be derived from orthographic syllables, but from phonological syllables.